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Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker

Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker is a bronze cast of the marble sculpture by Antonio Canova. It was commissioned in spring 1807 by Charles-Jean-Marie Alquier, the French ambassador to Rome, as a gift for Eugene de Beauharnais, viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy. Cast in 1810, it was sent by De Beauharnais to Milan in May 1812, though the city struggled to find a suitable place for it. The sculpture was eventually installed in the main courtyard, known as the Courtyard of Honour, of the Palazzo di Brera, now the Pinacoteca di Brera, and was inaugurated there on 14 August 1859 during Napoleon III’s visit.

Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker, a bronze nude statue on a hexagonal pedestal in the Brera courtyard.
Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker stands in the classical courtyard of the Brera Palace in Milan.
September 2022 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker bronze statue on an ornate pedestal in a courtyard, with classical buildings behind it.
Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker stands on an ornate pedestal in a courtyard framed by classical buildings.
© Vladimir Astapkovich / Владимир Астапкович · CC BY-SA 3.0
Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker statue silhouetted against a blue sky, with arches and columns behind it.
Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker in the courtyard of Palazzo di Brera, seen against the sky with the building’s arches in the background.
© · Attribution
Bronze base of Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker with two eagles and an N emblem, beneath the lower figure and in front of classical architecture.
Detail of Antonio Canova’s Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker, showing the bronze base with eagles and an N emblem.
© · Attribution
Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker statue of a muscular male figure holding an orb and staff in a museum
Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker, shown as a classical nude male statue with an orb and staff in a museum setting.
September 2017 © · CC BY-SA 4.0

Identification

TitleNapoleon as Mars the Peacemaker
Original title (French)Napoléon en Mars pacificateur
Original title (variant)Napoléon en Mars désarmé et pacificateur
TypeMonumental sculpture
Original title (Italian)Napoleone Bonaparte come Marte pacificatore

Historical context

SubjectNapoleon Bonaparte as Mars the Peacemaker

Creator

ArtistAntonio Canova

Discovery and provenance

Commissioned byCharles-Jean-Marie Alquier, French ambassador to Rome, acting on orders from Eugène de Beauharnais, viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy and Napoleon's stepson
Commission dateSpring 1807
Commission price5,000 French louis
Intended recipientEugène de Beauharnais
Original workMarble sculpture by Antonio Canova
Relationship to originalExact bronze copy of the original marble sculpture in London

Materials

MaterialBronze
Original materialMarble

Technique

Casting materialCannons from Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome
Casting techniqueLost-wax casting
FoundersFrancesco and Luigi Righetti, Roman founders

History and restoration

Replacement of right-hand attributeIn 1980, the right-hand Vittoria alata was replaced after the original was stolen in 1978
RestorationMeticulous restoration in 2014 to slow the effects of atmospheric agents and the resulting chemical-physical alterations of the material
Second World War damageThe crate was damaged by fire on the night of 7-8 August 1943, but the statue remained unharmed
Second World War protectionEnclosed in a protective wooden crate and sandbags
InaugurationLarge inaugural ceremony with a speech by Giulio Carcano during Napoleon III's visit to Milan
Austrian imperial orderOn 3 March 1857, the Emperor of Austria ordered that a suitable pedestal be erected at state expense and the statue be placed in the public gardens of the capital; the order was not carried out
Post-Napoleonic storageStored in the Academy's basements after Napoleon's fall
Temporary placementHall of Antiquities
Proposed locations in MilanPiazza del Duomo; Piazza Fontana in the niche of the former Piazza de' Tribunali, where a statue of Philip II had previously stood; the second courtyard of the Palazzo del Senato; the hall of antiquities
Initial placement in MilanA corner of the portico of the Palazzo delle Scienze
Pedestal designerLuigi Bisi
Second inauguration8 November 1864
Preparatory plaster model intended destinationUniversity of Padua, for Canova's friend Daniele Francesconi
Current installation date14 August 1859
Preparatory plaster model restorationRemoved in 2008, restored, and placed in Room XIV of the Pinacoteca di Brera in May 2009
Preparatory plaster model later storageKept in the Academy's basements, then in Room VI
Preparatory plaster model later acquisitionPurchased in very poor condition for the Royal Academy of Fine Arts after negotiations with the government of the Kingdom of Italy
Preparatory plaster model customs issueThe crates remained for a long time in the Padua customs offices because Francesconi could not pay the 330 scudi customs clearance cost
Preparatory plaster model weightNearly 2 tons
Preparatory plaster model sizeMore than 3 meters high
Preparatory plaster model date1808
Preparatory plaster model makerVincenzo Malpieri
Preparatory plaster modelLarge preparatory plaster model, one of five ordered by Canova for the casting of Napoleon's monument
Casting difficultyThe casting succeeded only on the second attempt because the operation was difficult

Location and ownership

Current locationCenter of the Courtyard of Honour of the Palazzo di Brera, Milan

Iconography and meaning

Right-hand attributeVittoria alata (Winged Victory)

Significance

Historical contextAmong the last orders given by the Emperor of Austria in Milan